Do you hear the silence? That was Ruben Amaro Jr. arriving in Southern California for baseballís general manager meetings.

The noise from the outside about the Phillies and their Hot Stove strategy is based on their recent history ó that of a franchise not only willing to spend like the Yankees and Red Sox, but do it with aggression.

The game plan in past offseasons was simple for Amaro: Identify the big-ticket free agent you want, and prepare to throw enough money at him early and cut out the haggling. And if free agency doesnít have the guy you want out there, gather a large pile of prospects and get the guy in a trade.

By the middle of November last season the Phillies had bid farewell to Ryan Madson as their closer and backed up the Brinks truck to Jonathan Papelbonís ó letís say his hunting stand ó with $50 million. By the end of November last year, the Phillies had signed Jim Thome, signed Raul Valdes, signed Papelbon, traded for Ty Wigginton, signed Kevin Frandsen and signed Scott Podsednik -- and those are just the moves of significance.

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That is why there has been a mad rush to list names for this yearís big needs: outfielders and/or a third baseman, one of which has some pop in his right-handed swing. Michael Bourn, Josh Hamilton, B.J. Upton, Angel Pagan, Nick Swisher, Kevin Youkilis ó if you donít know the names, you havenít been paying attention.

At some point in November, a big signing will take place. But if you are expecting the Phillies to be that team, you are going to be disappointed.

The Phillies are going to take it slowly this offseason. Thereís no truth to the rumor that Amaro has invested in a free agency promise ring to curb his urges, but that might not be a bad idea.

The Phillies are trying to have a born-again moment with the baseball gods after watching how the free-agent market unfolded last season. Yes, it took Albert Pujols a while and Prince Fielder a bigger while to get their massive paydays last winter. But Fielder is a client of Scott Boras, who never has a problem taking a negotiation deep into January to get every last penny.

What the Phillies and Amaro are taking from last winter are where the bargains were on free agency, especially when it came to position players. Hereís a list of the best free-agent deals from last year, with their contracts and the date on which they signed:

Aaron Hill (two years, $11 million) Nov. 15

Ryan Doumit (three years, $10 million), Nov. 23

Josh Willingham (three years, $21 million) Dec. 15

Michael Cuddyer (three years, $31.5 million) Dec. 16

Jason Kubel (two years, $16 million), Dec. 19

Carlos Beltran (two years, $26 million), Dec. 23

Cody Ross (one year, $3 million), Jan. 26

Yoenis Cespedes (four years, $36 million), Feb. 13

It is important to note that Jose Reyes signed his $106 million deal with the Marlins Dec. 7, and Pujols signed his massive, $240 million contract the following day. Those two days were the demarcation point for the players on this list. Hill and Doumit were considered middle-of-the-road free agents, and they took their money early.

As soon as Reyes and Pujols went, here came the rush of four higher-end outfielders, and every one of them played in 2012 like a guy who will make his contract worthwhile.

Ross, meanwhile, was inked late in the game and, much like Juan Pierre was for the Phils, made a little cash go a long way. Cespedes was the Cuban defector essentially auctioned to the highest bidder.

Pujols and Reyes didnít pay off in their first seasons. The guys who followed did.

The Phillies took note. It helps that Darin Ruf has hit nine more bombs in the Venezuelan Winter League, and Freddy Galvis has been hitting well above .300 there. They are making the front office feel less of a need to go for a top-5 free agent and seek value down the list a little way.

This year Amaro is playing it cool in the Hot Stove. The silence could prove refreshing.